First off, I apologize to my friends and roleplay partners who've been left hanging. Any desire to cancel old threads is completely understandable.

I've been struggling with a serious health issue the past several months. There was a long period where things would seem to improve only to relapse, delaying things further. All that aside, just wanted to let people know I'm around again and to contact me via PM or Trillian - ironsoldier, if anyone wants to get things going again.

Army had been practicing his moves over the past year, and one thing he'd gotten particularly good with were the suplexes. He was sure he could lift up just about anyone in the AFW and slam them around, and he was more than happy to share that expertise with Makie.

She had other ideas, though. Ideas that involved flipping him over her shoulder and dumping him right on his back, flipping him around despite the size difference. Army wasn't a master of the martial arts, but he knew a judo throw when he saw one, and Makie executed it with perfect form - a little something she'd picked up from Mama Akamatsu, no question.

It didn't hurt too much, but it did knock Army a little loopy, and he needed a minute to sit up while he shook his head to clear the cobwebs.

There was a tremendous crash as Makie used Army's superior size against him, flipping him head over heels in an almost perfectly-executed judo toss that sent him crashing down onto his ass. Her fans erupted into cheers as Makie countered Army's suplex. The cheers were encouraging, given that Makie was still feeling a little woozy from that punch earlier.

It was time to return the favour, though. While Army was still flat on his ass, Makie would run past him towards the ropes. Rebounding, she would come running back, aiming to nail him with a drop kick while he was still vulnerable...

Army was sitting on his butt, groaning in pain, with his back totally exposed. Logically, he knew what was about to happen. Makie was one of those quick, flippy types, so that meant dropkicks whenever possible, and his chest might as well have had a bullseye painted on it.

Unfortunately, knowing what would happen didn't mean he could stop it.

His chest exploded as Makie's boot slammed hard into each pec, practically planting him into the canvas. He was left staring up at the ceiling, blinking, trying to figure out how he'd wound up being the first one to get into this position.

The crowd roared as Makie knocked Army flat on his back, though that wasn't half as thrilling to Makie as the look of stunned surprise on the latino's face. "YEAAAH!" she crowed, pumping a fist to the crowd, before turning back to her downed opponent. Army wasn't someone she could afford to just leave lying there, she knew.

Rubbing her head, she walked over to him and grabbed his arm. Hauling him to his feet, she would waste no time in whipping him towards the ropes, aiming to come at him in the rebound with a hard and effective spinning kick that would hopefully stun him.

Makie had a big set of figurative balls, Army would give her that much. Aside from Hana, he couldn't remember the last time any woman had actually tried to Irish Whip him anywhere, much less do it effectively. But she made it work, and it seemed like she was setting up for something nasty.

Army still had some whits left, though, and he put them to good use. Instead of coming back towards her after he hit the ropes, he grabbed them with both arms and stayed in place, killing the momentum and trying to throw her timing off. As soon as her kick was done swinging through the air, he surged forward and tried to take her down with a clothesline, hoping to drop her before she could even figure out what was going on.

In Makie's defence, this had worked out a lot better in her imagination. She had figured that she had stunned Army enough to go for a bigger, meaner move, one which would be precipitated by a whip across the ring. Even a guy his size, she figured, would be vulnerable to the laws of inertia at this point.

But Army clearly thought differently. As Army came swinging back, he surprised her by grabbing at her arms, fouling her kick and nearly causing her to lose balance. "Goddamn--" she swore...seconds before Army's forearm slammed hard against her skull. The blow knocked her feet out from under her and sent her crashing onto her back, groaning and momentarily stunned by the heavy move.

Army clotheslined a girl half his size, dropped her like a sack of potatoes. Excessive, but definitely effective, and sure as hell worth it just to see the look on Makie's face when she hit the floor. He'd need more hits than just one to take her down, sure. But not too much.

Now, what to follow it up with it?

He decided on something quick, simple, and easy to do, and there weren't too many things that fit those bills better than what he had in mind. Army rushed to the ropes, bounced off to gain some momentum, then dropped down on her with an elbow drop, aiming for the center of her chest. With about 200 pounds backing it up, it was bound to leave an impression. Literally and figuratively.

Makie, unfortunately, was still on her back as Army made her move. Her opponent's clothesline had packed a lot of power behind it, and she shook her head as she tried furiously to fight off the dizziness and get her head back in the game. Kyo had always said that she had the "willpower of a true fighter," that she had the sheer determination to fight on against dudes twice her size. Toshio had always been more blunt about it-- "You're too dumb to quit, sis," he always enjoyed telling her.

Grimacing, she forced her eyes open, just in time to see Army come hurtling down towards her, his perfectly sculpted form arched for an elbow drop. Swearing, Makie tried to roll. If she executed in time, then she would keep rolling away from Army-- otherwise, she would be nailed hard by the elbow, the impact hitting her with such force that her entire body would reverberate, causing her legs to kick out as she wordlessly clutched her chest.

The elbow drop was a nice a quick move, very little space between the execution and the impact. Gravity was only a little involved, here, and while it occurred to Army that Makie could move, he never thought she would be able to do it in time.

Suprirses, surprises.

She was gone by the time Army's elbow fell, leaving him with only a lonely, unforgiving mat to crash into. Army cried out as he landed right on the joint, sending painful tingles down the length of his arm, and he immediately rolled to the side as he tried to nurse the pain away.

Makie heard the crash of Army's elbow behind her as she threw herself sideways, her world still spinning a little from that last clothesline. Shaking her head in an effort to clear away the dizziness, she pushed herself up to her hands and knees, and took a long sideways glance at Army, who was clutching his elbow in obvious pain.

"Nnngh...not...fast enough," she taunted him, even as she pushed up, trying to stagger up to her feet.